SPONSOR: Lewis (6)
This bill modifies the existing "Urban Flight and Rural Needs Scholarship Program" by changing the name to the "Teacher Recruitment and Retention State Scholarship Program".
The corresponding state treasury fund is also renamed accordingly. Additional provisions of the existing program are modified including increasing the maximum number of two-year scholarships from 200 in the 2025 academic year to 600 such scholarships by the 2030-31 school term.
Scholarships for up to 100% of eligible tuition and fees are to be awarded to "eligible students" as defined in the bill for up to two years. Students must agree to teach in "hard-to-staff schools" or "hard-to-staff subject areas" for two years for every year the scholarship is received.
The repayment rate of the scholarships for a failure to fulfill the agreement is set forth in the bill as 1% over the prevailing prime rate in effect on January 1st of the year the student is ineligible, with annual adjustments.
This bill is similar to HB 497 (2023).
Statutes affected: